


A Bad Time in Budapest

by orphan_account



Series: Step by Step [1]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: And Robin Catches Feelings, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Pre-Season/Series 01, The JLA is Disappointed, Wizards Suck, do not copy to another site
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-09-23 18:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20344762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Why did the Titans form in lieu of Young Justice? How did Dick realize he had feelings for Wally?And what on earth happened in Budapest?





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Told you guys I was willing to talk about Budapest!
> 
> This is set approximately one year before s05ep10 - "Go!" (meaning that the Fab Five are ~14).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The content warnings about abuse are for Roy and Wally.
> 
> Forgive me if Donna's characterization is a little off! I'm not too familiar with her.

Light streams in through the open window, falling over the forms of five teenagers, all of whom are clustered in a dingy living room.

This would not be such an unusual sight if said teenagers weren't superheroes.

Donna Troy, also known as Wonder Girl, is seated on the windowsill. The twenty-odd floors between her perch and the ground don't seem to bother her in the slightest.

Garth, the Atlantean called Aqualad, is playing an ill-advised game involving water and the electricity generated by Wally West (Kid Flash).

Roy Harper, the former sidekick of Green Arrow, has his cheek pressed to the arm of the tattered couch. His half-lidded eyes lazily track the pacing of the room's final occupant— Dick Grayson, Gotham City's one and only Robin.

Said Robin is currently railing against his partner, Batman.

"…like he doesn't trust me at all! And I don't know why! I've been doing this for _ five years! _ You would think he'd have some faith in my abilities."

"Sometimes, faith is too much to ask for," Donna says mulishly. "My sister disapproves of most of my actions. She believes that Man's World is 'too much' for me."

"Same here," Garth admits, making the water he's toying with evaporate. "I don't think Aquaman likes me leaving Atlantis all the time. But it’s so interesting here!"

Roy lifts his head to say, "Ollie is a piece of shit, and you all know it."

As one, the other four heroes cringe. Roy is right. Oliver Queen's rampant mistreatment of "Speedy" is the reason they're here, cloistered in a ratty apartment in Seattle, instead of haunting their home cities.

Wally zips over, turning into an indistinguishable streak of color. He plops down next to Roy and throws his arms around the archer.

"Clingy," Roy complains, but the fine tremors running through his body gradually cease.

"I'm sorry you guys don't have the best relationships with your mentors," the speedster mumbles. "I can't imagine fighting with Uncle Barry like that."

Dick scowls, indirectly reminded of the reason Wally lives with his uncle in the first place. His parents are terrible people. Of course the dynamic he has with the Flash is a step up from abuse, neglect, and _ attempted murder. _

"You don't have to be sorry, KF. None of this is your fault," the Boy Wonder says fiercely.

"I know. But it still sucks."

Donna opens her mouth to say something, but she’s cut off by the shrill ringing of her communicator. Frowning, she withdraws the device.

"Speak of the devil. It's my sister."

She picks up, and a hush falls over the room. So silent are the boys that they can hear Wonder Woman's tinny voice through the speakers. She's snapping at Donna in Ancient Greek, her tone harsh and unyielding.

"…understood," says the girl after her elder sister finishes. She turns off the communicator, looking as if she's seconds away from crushing it in her hand.

"Is it bad news?" Garth asks.

“She’s demanding that I return to Themyscira. It’s as I said,” Donna sighs. “She does not trust my judgment in Man’s World. I must go.”

“Good luck,” Wally calls, watching Donna leave the premises. A second later, the sound of the door slamming echoes through the apartment.

“See,” Roy murmurs, “it’s shit like _ that _ that made me want to keep using. Everything Ollie did to try and control me just made it worse. And then he threw me out, so it should’ve stopped mattering, but…”

“Disappointing him still hurt like hell?” Dick says bitterly.

Wally catches the acrobat by the hand— interrupting his pacing— and pulls him down onto the couch. Garth plasters himself to Dick’s other side, resulting in the four of them becoming entangled in a heroic heap.

“Everything is a little less terrible when I’m with you guys,” Roy admits.

The secret spills into the air, settling into the boys’ hearts. Wally blinks in surprise, Garth tucks the quiet utterance away for later, and Dick hums in agreement. He presses his forehead against Wally’s shoulder, an uncharacteristic indulgence in physical affection from the Bat-trained teen.

After a long moment, the archer says, “You wanna play Halo and work out our aggression?”

“You’re on!” Wally crows, diving for the secondhand game system. Garth scrambles off the couch and helps him set up the battered X-Box.

Dick automatically accepts a controller. He goes through the motions of playing, but his mind is lost in the dark alleys of Gotham, chasing the cape of the feared Batman.

* * *

Four days later, Bruce Wayne sets down a newspaper and peers imperiously at Dick over a pair of reading glasses. The boy’s hand stills just shy of his cereal bowl.

“Is something wrong?” He asks his mentor, hoping that Bruce isn’t about to confront him about his middling AP Lit grades. God, it’s not his fault that English is his fifth language!

“With you, no. In Hungary, yes,” Bruce replies. Ignoring Alfred’s decree regarding vigilante work in the manor, he hands his ward a dossier, explaining, “There is a cult dabbling with dark magic in Budapest. Normally, the League would be dispatched to deal with them, but Green Lantern has alerted us to an incoming extraterrestrial threat…”

“And you can’t be in both places at once,” Dick finishes. “So you’re deputizing me. Who else is invited?”

“Wonder Girl, Aqualad, and Kid Flash.”

Dick blinks. _ What about Roy? _

“Speedy was only released from rehab two weeks ago,” Bruce says, sensing the question before it’s spoken. “He has not been cleared for combat.”

Now, the logical side of Dick’s brain understands that this is a measure meant to protect not only the team, but the archer as well. The emotional side rebels, furious at the notion that Roy is being excluded from a mission. He’s their goddamn friend! Invaluable!

The acrobat doesn’t voice his dissent. Instead, he takes a bite of his Cheerios, hiding the mutiny brewing in his eyes.

-

At 3:45 CST (fifteen minutes after Wally gets out of class), Dick activates a private communicator— one part of a set commissioned solely for himself and his four closest companions. The device is black and yellow, much like a Batclan communicator, but it sports a T in lieu of a winged symbol.

(Dick still isn’t sure what said T stands for. At the moment, it simply means “Team.”)

One by one, the other teens chime in.

“Rob! What’s up, man?” That’s Wally, fastest as usual.

Donna’s next, concern in her voice. “Do you require assistance, Robin?”

“Yeah, is there a problem?” Garth asks, barely audible over the roar of crashing waves.

Roy rounds out the chatter with an annoyed, “Bitch, the world better be _ on fire. _ You interrupted a good ass nap.”

“It’s not the world, per se,” Dick denies, pacing the length of the balance beam Bruce had installed when he’d arrived at the Manor. “Just Budapest.”

“Uh, where?”

“It’s the capital of Hungary! The tenth most populous city in the European Union!” Wally rattles off.

Dick smiles, finding the speedster’s wide breadth of knowledge endearing. “Right in one. What he didn’t mention, though, is that Budapest is currently under siege. A cult known as the White Crown has been steadily indoctrinating members for the better part of a year. And yesterday, the Justice League received confirmation that they’ve started using dark magic to gain control of the city.”

“Magic,” Wally mocks. “I guarantee that anything they’re doing can be explained by science.”

“Kid Flash, you’ve seen the Zataras at work. How can you deny the existence of the arcane?” Donna queries incredulously.

“He got his powers through an experiment, so obviously, everyone else’s have to work the same way! Dumbass,” Roy snickers.

“Who are you calling dumbass, Mr. I Don’t Know Where Budapest Is?!”

“Guys,” Dick warns. “As amusing as it is to make fun of each other, we were just handed a mission by Batman himself. This is our chance to prove ourselves to the JLA. You know, like we’ve always wanted to?”

Everyone sobers.

“When and where are we meeting?” Garth asks.

“I can give Aqualad and Wonder Girl access to the Batcave’s zeta tube. But, uh, Speedy… you’re technically not invited.”  
  
“Oh, of fucking course,” Roy sneers. “I get high a few times, and I’m suddenly incapable of holding a bow.”

“Dude, Rob’s letting you come. If he didn’t want you to, he wouldn’t have linked you up. I’m assuming that you want me to run over to Seattle and get Speedy?” Wally says.

“It’s like you read my mind,” laughs the acrobat. He and Wally are always so in sync.

(It’s kind of amazing.)

“I know you too well, birdie. Alright, Speedy! Get ready! I’ll be over in a flash!”

He disconnects from the comms with a crack of thunder, and Garth sighs,

"That joke gets dumber every time he says it."

-

In short order, the quintet find themselves aboard a Batplane to Budapest. Roy is jammed into the cargo hold just in case Batman attempts calling them on the way, and the others have strategically arranged themselves as insurance.

Dick fiddles with his cape, trying not to appear too nervous. He’s never led a mission like this before— Bruce typically doesn’t let him stray far during patrols. The same goes for the others. It’s odd that their shared experience in crime fighting led to a lack of independence rather than the fostering of it. If Dick had a better way with words (and the permission to divulge highly classified information), he’d write a dissertation detailing the phenomenon.

“Anyone else freaking out?” Wally says, interrupting Dick’s musings. “‘Cause I am. Look at me. I’m literally vibrating.”

And he is. The speedster’s outline is blurry, and the air around him is charged with static. Donna leans away when a streak of lightning leaps toward her.

“Kid Flash, please. Calm yourself.”

“I’m trying! It's hard,” Wally whines. “Wait, can I run ahead? That would help me, like, clear my mind. I swear.”

“That's actually a good idea. Scout the area for us,” Dick orders.

“Target?” Wally asks, lowering his goggles.

“Vajdahunyad Castle. It’s located in a city park, but the Crown has driven most of the civilians out of the area. You should have a clear shot.”

“Cool. Bye!”

With that, the speedster dives out of the hatch and takes off.

“Being a speedster must be so convenient,” Roy says, his voice muffled by the door of the cargo hold. “Like, if he wants to travel, he doesn’t have to pay for plane tickets.”

“Or rely on cars and buses,” Garth adds. “I kinda hate land transport, even though I know it’s necessary. It’s not like you can get currents to take you across the United States…”

“Plus, he can always arrive to events in a timely manner!” Donna finishes.

Dick snorts. “The Flash also has superspeed, and he’s late to everything. All the time. It’s one of the few things Batman hates about him.”

“I hate it too!” Wally shouts over the comms.

“Dude, how the fuck are you talking to us right now? Weren’t you running faster than the speed of sound?” Roy asks.

“Oh, I broke my record! I’m already in Ireland!”

“That’s amazing! Congratulations!” Donna says. Garth starts clapping, and the other three join in on the round of applause. Once the noise tapers off, Dick whispers,

“Good job, KF.”

(For some strange reason, he hopes Wally is the only one who hears it.)

* * *

After a few hours (in which Wally exhausts all his patience and ends up sprinting to France to buy beignets), the Batplane touches down among the trees surrounding Vajdahunyad Castle. Dick puts the jet into camouflage mode and flips out of the exit, stretching his muscles. He’s capable of sitting still for long periods of time, but by god, does he hate it.

Roy is in the same boat as he is. The archer withdraws his collapsible bow and extends it, his frame unfolding in a mimicry of the weapon. Garth winces when a sharp _crack_ sounds in the clearing.

“Was that your _ spine?” _

“Yeah, it fucking was,” Roy grouses. “We can’t all have liquid bones like Boy Wonder over there.”

Dick does a walkover to spite him. He finishes the move and straightens up, coming face to face with Wally. Beaming, the speedster hands him a pastry.

“I saved one for you!”

“Aw, thanks,” Dick says, cramming the beignet into his mouth. Unbidden, he thinks, _ Wally is really sweet. _

_ Wait. Where the fuck did that come from? _

_ …I probably meant the beignet. The beignet was really sweet. _

“What about the rest of us?” Donna says, crossing her arms.

“I’ll be honest,” Wally laughs, flitting out of the Amazonian’s reach, “I actually did have four remaining when I started my return trip. But when I got here, uh. There was only one left. Oops.”

“‘Oops,’” Roy rolls his eyes. “Jesus.”

Dick dusts powdered sugar off his gloves and straightens, settling into mission mode. “Kid Flash, report.”

“Right. All the visitors and staff have fled the area, but there’s a bunch of acolytes in the castle’s entry hall. They’re standing around and talking. Unfortunately, I couldn’t spot the leader.”

“Quick question: what do you mean by ‘a bunch?’” Garth queries.

“Eh, there were about thirty people?” Wally says. “Easy pickings for the five of us, especially since they didn’t look trained.”

“Okay,” Dick mutters. He can easily construct a plan with that information. “Wonder Girl, I want you to take Speedy and fly him through a window on one of the upper floors of the castle. Then he can find a good sniper’s nest. Once he’s in position, you’ll float down and rendezvous with Garth and me— we’ll be coming in via the back entrance of the ground floor.”

“What about Kid Flash?”

“He'll be the distraction,” Dick decrees. To Wally, he says, “Run into the main hall and disorient the acolytes. If you see any weapons, take them.”

“Sounds good to me,” Roy drawls. Next to him, Garth grins, and Wally bounces on the balls of his feet.

Donna hefts her lasso, shouting, “Onward!”

“What she said,” Dick smirks. “Team, let’s _go.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My headcanon about the communicators doesn't mesh with the way Aqualad and Speedy receive their devices, but it DOES explain why Kid Flash has one (despite only getting real screentime in Lightspeed, in which he did not interact with any of the other Titans). We'll just pretend that Roy and Garth trashed their original communicators and needed replacements.


	2. And Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I hope you like this chapter!

The mission starts off easy.

(In hindsight, that should've been a sign that everything was about to go to hell.)

Wally breezes through the crowd, snapping wands between his fingers and tossing dismantled guns aside. Roy picks off acolyte after acolyte with precise shots.

The ginger duo’s work makes things simple for Dick and Donna. They charge in, and with quick, coordinated strikes, blaze a trail toward a woman that looks somewhat important.

Like a coward, she tries to flee.

**“Ventus!”** She yelps, flinging a hand behind her. A gale-force wind erupts from her fingers. Dick gets blown away and turns the motion into a neat somersault. Donna plants her feet, her arms raised in her sister’s trademark defensive position.

Luckily, they don’t have to weather the storm for long. Wally races past, and the tornado he generates effectively dispels her magic. The acolyte squeaks in dismay.

Dick jerks his head toward the petrified woman, urging one of his teammates to take the opening. Donna throws her lasso and manages to wrap it around their opponent’s torso. The weapon doesn’t have the same properties as Wonder Woman’s, but it’s compelling all the same.

"Where is your leader?!" The Amazonian snaps.

"I won't say anything!" Their enemy stammers, trying to hide her face in the collar of her robes. Dick rolls his eyes. She'll crack in a minute under _ his _ demands.

He hauls her up and presses the red-gold tip of a birdarang to her throat. With his voice firmly in the register Bruce uses as Batman, he growls, “Answer her question.”

The acolyte promptly spills her guts.

“He’s underground, in the castle’s crypt! Just don’t hurt me!”

With the cheerful, eerie cackle that haunts the dreams of Blackgate inmates, Dick knocks her unconscious.

“Well done,” Donna laughs. She untangles her lasso and exchanges a discreet high-five with the acrobat.

"Hey, guys?" Roy asks over the comms, interrupting his team’s celebration. "Where's Aqualad?"

Dick and Donna still. Wally abruptly stops in his tracks, his feet skidding across the floor and raising clouds of fine dust.

"We were in the back courtyard together," Donna says slowly. "He should have followed Robin and me inside."

"Um, the back courtyard is on fire!" Wally yelps.

Dick gasps and whirls to face the window. Fire is ravaging the spacious gardens, and Garth is in a fountain, trying to ward it off. Logically, the water he’s wielding should be able to douse the flames.

But it’s having no effect on the inferno.

"Wonder Girl, help him! Atlanteans are weak to heat— if his hydrokinesis isn't working, he'll die!"

Donna leaps through the window and charges for Garth. In the same moment, Roy topples off his perch. His bow falls from his slack fingers, plunging to the ground alongside him.

With twin cries of horror, Wally and Dick run for their friend.

They don't make it.

One of them triggers a pressure plate, and the floor underneath them vanishes. Roy hits the stone with a sickening thud while the duo begins their own descent.

The last thing Dick sees before the trap doors close above them is the dart sticking out of the archer's neck, glowing acid-green in the firelight.

* * *

Dick allows himself to experience five seconds of pure, unadulterated panic.

_ Roy fell. We're falling. What if we die like Dya and Dat? _

Then he shakes his head, calms his breathing, and orders, "KF, if you can find a wall, grab me and run down it."

"Gotcha, birdie," Wally says, his light tone betraying none of the strain he must be feeling. His arms close around Dick, and the world spins as the speedster searches for traction. He succeeds— the soles of his boots make contact with a rough surface.

Dick wraps his own arms around Wally’s shoulders, tucking his face into the other boy’s neck. He can’t help his sigh of relief as his partner races down the wall and eases into a gentle landing.

_ Trust my best friend to have my back. _

Torches flicker to life. As ghostly green light washes over them, Dick raises his head. He’s just in time to see a shadow flit over the walls, laughing in a hushed voice.

“What the _ hell?” _ Wally hisses. His grip on Dick tightens until it hurts.

The acrobat wiggles out of the bridal carry, explaining, “The acolyte Wonder Girl and I caught told us that the leader is down here. He’s probably posturing.”

“Asshole,” Wally sniffs, and Dick smiles in spite of himself. The happiness drops off his face when he remembers what their friends are going through.

“Let’s take care of him and find a way back up— the others need our help,” he says, all business.

“No complaints here.”

So they walk forward, matching their paces even though Wally can be halfway across the city before Dick blinks. The atmosphere darkens with every step they take. Dick grinds his teeth, feeling his skin crawl. _ How can Wally deny the existence of magic when the evil in the air is tangible? _

In what feels like no time at all, they arrive in a wide antechamber. The leader of the White Crown is crouched in the center of the room. He greets them in a disinterested voice, his eyes never wavering from the chalk circle he’s drawing.

“Hello, heroes. You’ve made quite a mess of my plans.”

“If you didn’t want people to stop you, you shouldn’t have tried to take over a city,” Dick snaps. It’s not his wittiest comeback, but it’s going to have to do. He doesn’t have time to banter.

At that, the wizard gets to his feet. Dick assumes a fighting stance, and Wally drops into a track start, electricity crackling over his skin.

By all accounts, it should be a threatening display. But the man simply laughs.

**“Ruina!”**

The ceiling shatters, and before the two heroes know it, half a castle’s worth of rubble is heading straight for them. Faster than Dick can blink, Wally picks him up and throws him at the wizard. The acrobat, who is used to being tossed around by his mentor, uses the momentum to launch a kick at his face. His heel meets the man’s jaw, snapping the bone with a sharp _ crunch. _ He swears in Hungarian.

Ignoring the bitter curse, Dick lands and aims a punch at the villain’s solar plexus. He dodges, snarling,

“I’d tell you that you’ll pay for that, but, well… your friend's already paying.”

_ What? _ Dick’s gaze darts over his shoulder, and he promptly blanches in horror.

See, the acrobat had forgotten something crucial. When Batman launched Robin at a target, he always had a plan. But when Wally threw Dick at the wizard, it wasn’t a tactical maneuver.

He was trying to get Dick _ out of range. _

The ceiling has pinned the speedster to the ground, and Dick can instantly tell that there’s no way he can wiggle out. The burden is too heavy.

“You _ son of a—” _ Dick shrieks.

He doesn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. The wizard had been carrying a ceremonial knife, and with expert precision, he drives it between the acrobat’s ribs.

The silver blade pierces through his Kevlar like it’s silk. Crying out in pain, Dick flings a birdarang. But his aim is off— it soars harmlessly past the wizard’s head, and he proceeds to stab Dick again. It’s in the abdomen, this time… right through a massive bruise left by Killer Croc.

Dick staggers back. Behind him, Wally tries vibrating out of the rubble. He fails— it’s one of the few things Flash hasn’t taught him yet.

“Well, little ones, may you join your team in hell,” the wizard says. Pocketing his knife, he touches the chalk circle and dissolves into light.

Coughing, wheezing, choking on his own blood, Dick collapses. Wally whines in panic and tries once more to phase through his stone prison.

"I can't move! I'm still stuck!"

"It's okay," Dick huffs. It's definitely not okay. He's probably going to bleed out, and Wally is going to break under the weight of the ceiling. If only one of them had a Lantern ring. If only one of them were Superman…

Wait. Superman. Superman can hear him if he calls. They might not die here after all!

Hope is a dangerous thing, but Dick has enough left to suck in a painful breath and shout, "Superman! Superman!"

"Try his real name," Wally gasps. "Lots of people ask for Superman, but no one says…"

"Clark! UNCLE CLARK, HELP US!"

(In an office in Metropolis, a journalist drops a mug of coffee. It shatters all over the floor. Ignoring the startled glances of his coworkers, he hurriedly exits the room.)

Dick's vision is going dark and fuzzy at the edges. He drags himself across the floor, until he's right by Wally's side. He hopes Clark gets here quickly. Not because he's scared of dying. The acrobat made his peace with death when Two-Face had him. No, Dick doesn't want _ Wally _ to die.

He loves the other boy too much for that.

Something is strange about the thought, but it doesn't matter. His consciousness is trickling away. Just before it slips through his fingers, a red and blue blur drops into the room.

Oh. They're saved. 

-

Dick wakes to a soft beeping.

Slowly, he cracks open one eye, and upon catching sight of the Watchtower med bay’s white ceiling, allows himself to relax. _ I’m alive. _

“It was close,” says a voice, making Dick realize he’d spoken aloud. Turning his head, he catches sight of Bruce— and this is Bruce, not Batman. His cowl is down, baring his exhausted face and disheveled hair to the world.

“Sorry?” The acrobat offers helplessly. His mentor must be disappointed. The team had fucked up in too many ways to count— there’s no way they’re getting out of this without repercussions.

But at the moment, a lecture is the last thing on Bruce’s mind. The Dark Knight gets to his feet and places a gentle hand on Dick’s head. “Don’t apologize. I’m glad you pulled through.”

_ Me too, _ thinks Dick.

Bruce turns on his heel, leaving Dick’s bedside. Past the whirl of his black cape lies the rest of the team, all of them unconscious. Roy’s left arm and leg are wrapped in casts. Donna’s face is covered in bruises, as if she’d been bludgeoned by a baseball bat. Garth is submerged in a tank, and through the glass and the aquamarine water, Dick can spot the burns spanning his skin.

And then there’s Wally. He’s sprawled on the bed closest to Dick’s, his face unguarded in sleep. Dick’s heart spasms.

He remembers, then, their time trapped underground. The ceiling slowly crushing the speedster, Dick himself struggling to breathe. The sole thought looping through his head— _ ne wesztinipe nipo papal. _

God. He’s in fucking love with Wally. What the hell.

Dick presses his shaking fingers to his lips and silently vows to say nothing.

* * *

While Dick has a crisis, the JLA assesses the damage caused by the young heroes.

“Ancient castle, trashed. Priceless heirlooms, destroyed. The surrounding forest, on fire,” Green Lantern says, ticking off each mistake on his fingers. “Great job, juniors. Really couldn’t have done better myself.”

“Don’t be callous, Hal!” hisses Wonder Woman. “All five of them were hurt!”

“Five of them,” Batman mutters irritably. _ Speedy wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near Budapest. _

The Flash glances at the monitor, which is currently displaying a Hungarian news feed. The anchor does _ not _ look pleased.

“Um, how about we _ never _ let our sidekicks go solo again?”

“Seconded,” drawls Aquaman, downing half a bottle of vodka in one gulp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The spells in this are (Google Translate) Latin. 
> 
> Ventus = Wind  
Ruina = Collapse
> 
> If you're wondering where the dart came from, that was Cheshire.
> 
> The Romani is supposed to mean "I can't lose someone I love again." If it doesn't say that, I apologize; Romani translators are very difficult to find.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
